Adjustable support for window shades



sepf. 9,1924. 1,507,918 J. G. HOWARD ADJUSTABBEI. SUPPORT FOR WINDOW SHADES Filed Aug- 17, 1922 2 shuts-Shut. 1

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l 5 Vl', ull-m11 J. G. HOWARD ADJUSTABEEISUPPORT FOR WINDOW SHADES Sept. 9

Filed Aug. 17. 1922 ashun-shed: z

5.5, vided atthe` ends Withhooks which may be Patented Sept. 9, 1924.

vUiurlazn STATES JULIUS G. HOWARD, 0F CHICAGQ, ILLINOIS.

JsipJtrs'iABLn sUPro-e'r son WINDOW SHAB-Es.

Application filed August `17, 1922.-- Serial No, 582,338,

T 0 all whom/tit may concern."

Be it known that I, JULIUSv G. HOWARD, a citizen of Hungary, who have declared my intention of becoming a citizen Vof the United States of America, residingat Chicago,county of Cook, State of Illinois','have invented a certain new and useful Improvement invAdjustable Supports for `Window Shades, and declare the following fto be a ful-l, clear, 'and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains toinake and use the same, reference being to the accompanying drawings, which form a partv of this specification.

'It is advantageous to have window shades supported in such a way that they may be raised and lowered bodily, thus making it possible for light to enter through variable .portions at the upper and lower endsy of The object of the present invenwindows. tion is to produce a simple and novel construction and arrangement for supporting window shades so as to permit themV to be bodily adjusted lengthwise of windows.

In carrying out my invention I makeuse of supports fora shade kroller acted' on by long springs which tend constantly to position the shade roller at the top of the win` dow, suitable releasable catches being provided to hold the supports in any desired.

lower position. All that it is necessary to do, therefore, when it is desired to raise the roller is to release the catches and permit the springs to do the work of raising; while, in order 'to lower the roller, the catcher may be used as handles to pull the roller down after the catches have been released. In one of its aspects, therefore, my invention may be said to have for its object toproduce a simple and novely supporting means for a shade roller which will cause thev roller to be automatically raised upon the release of a catch mechanismy and which will permit the roller to lbe lowered, by a downward move-y ment on the catch mechanism after the release of the latter.

The catches on opposite sides of the window may be released in various Ways, preferably bymeans of a cross piececonnecting thersan'ie. This cross piece may be arod lying behind the shade or it may be the shade stick. IVhere the catch-releasing means'is the shade stick it isvpreferably proengaged with the catches when the'shade is raised inthe usual way and thenaict on the catchesv to draw them'down or allow"them to rise under control; if,V it Vf be desired.- to

lower Aor raisethe roller; the parts .being sov proportioned that 'the lshade maybe raised to carry the stick above the catches without engaging the latter, when it is desiredsimply .to raise the shade. without aifectingrlthe roller. VVIn other of itsaspects,'theref ore, my invention may be regarded'as having for its object to produceua simple and novelv shade supporting means iny whichthe shade roller may be raised and lowered by a single cross piece or bya simple manipulation 'of the shade itsel In the' course of time thelong suspending` vfor ak spring adapted to support and raisev an end of'a shade roller.'

'The various features of novelty. whereby l i my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity-in the claims; but, for a full yunderstandin'gjof my invention and4 of its objects andadvantages, referencemaybe had` tothe following det'ailed description taken i-n .connec-` tionV with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a' front elevation of awindow.

equipped with a shade andl supporting and controlling mechanism embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on an enlarged scale.

on line 2 .2 of Fig. l; a v

Fig. 3A is a vertical section 4 through a por: tion of one of the guides on a planev parallel withk the shade, a portion of the ,shade Iand shade roller being shown.A

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of va-` fragment d. of the lower end ofthe shade', anda fragment of the corresponding catch, the hook on the end of the shade stick being shown in position to actuate the catch.Vv Y l Fig. 5 ris a view onV alarger scale than Fig. 2 of a 'fragment of" one ofthe guides iio and shade supports, showing the catch in locking position.

F 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing the catch in release position.

Fig. 7 is a view ofthe opposite side of the shade support from that shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a section taken yapproximately on line 8-8 of Fig. 2. n

Fig. 9 is a section taken approximately on line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a section taken approximately on line 10-10 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 11 is a front view of a modified form of cross bar, shown in operative relation to the handles of the catches, which handles are shown with .dotted lines; and

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Figs. 8 and 10, illustrating a modiiied form of guide.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a window frame of any usual or suitable construction having window sashes 2. lnstead of the vertical cleats that engage the inner of the two sashes to hold it inthe frame, I provide guide bars 3. Each of these guide bars may have substantially the same external contour as any usual or suitable cleat, but it is made hollow to receive movable supporting mechanism for a shade roller 4. Each guide bar has in the side facing the other bar a slot 5 extending lengthwise through the same. Within each guide bar and movable lengthwise of the same is a plate 6 having thereon a suitable bracket 7 for supporting the adjacent end of the shade roller. The shade roller will be revolubly supported in one of the brackets, while the projection that enters the other bracket is held against rotation in any usual way. As best shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the bracket which is to prevent rotation is provided with a slot 8 cut into the top thereof, the open upper end of the slot being closed, if desired, by means of a U-shaped spring clip 9 which may be pressed in place on the bracket after the roller has been mounted. Each supporting plate is suspended on a long coiled spring 10. ln order to secure a great length of spring I prefer to fasten one end of the latter to the upper end of the corresponding plate, the spring being then passed over a small wheel or pulley 11 in the upper end of the guide bar and continued down to a point near the lower end of the guide bar, where it is anchored. Proi vision for adjustment, both initially7 and after the spring has become lengthened through service, is made in the following manner: Several bayonet slots 12/ are cut laterally from the main slot 5 near the lower end of the guide bar; and the lower end of the spring is provided with a headed pin 13 adapted to be received in any one of' these slots. In order to anchor the lower end of the spring in place the headed pin is simply slipped laterally :into one of the that, when free to do so, the springs raise the roller to the top of the window frame.

However, when it is desired to lower the roller, it'may be drawn down against the tension of the springs; but in order to hold the roller in a lowered position it must be locked in place, since otherwise the springs would raise the roller again as soon as it was released. While it may not be essential that the roller be locked against downward movement, l prefer to provide means for locking it against downward movement as well as against upward movement, so as to hold the curtain roller rigidly in place and prevent it from vibrating up and down when the shade is manipulated to roll it up or unroll it. In the arrangement shown I have pivoted on the lower end of each of the supporting plates a catch 14 in the form of a double ended pawl. This catch preferably consists of two short metal bars 15 lying on opposite sides of the` supporting plate and secured thereto by means of a pivot pin 16 fastened through the centers thereof and through the lower end of the supportingplate. The two bars of the catch are fastened together at their ends by means of cross pins 17 and 18. A spring 19 arranged between the catch and the support-v ing platetends constantly to hold the catch in a position more or less transverse of the plate as shown in Figs. 5 and 7. The supporting plate isfprovided in oneredge with a notch 2O into which the cross pin 18 mayv swing when the catch. is shifted into a posi-` tion in which it extends lengthwise of thek plate. ln the bounding walls at opposite sides of the slot are pairs of opposed notchesI placed at intervals along the length of the guide bar. One of the notches 21 of each pair has a downwardly facing shoul der arranged approximately at right angles to the length of the slot. 22 of each pairhas an'upwardly facing shoulder arranged parallel with the downward facing shoulder of the other notch. The parts are so proportioned that when the catch is brought opposite a pair of the notches as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5, the spring 19 will cause the catch to rotate until rests on the square shoulder of the notch 22.;- I

The other notch the cross pins at the ends thereof enter thef two notches. It will be seen that when the and the. supporting plate cannotbe pushed or drawn upwardly because the crosspin 17 underlies the square shoulder of the notch 21.V

Consequently the supporting platevis locked against either up or down movement. When it is desired to release the supporting platel so as to permit itl to be mofved up or down,vv the catch vis swung from its transverse posi. tion shown inFig. 5 to an upright position,-

as shown in Fig.' 6, carrying it clear-of the nl )tchesv and permitting it to ride up and,y down theslot inthe guide bar. The p in 18 of the catch may be extended outwardly and be provided with a head or button 23 by which it may be grasped not only for releasends.- withxnotches 26 spaced apart far enough to receive the two heads 1or buttons on the catches lying at opposite sides of the window. This rod maybe placed above the heads or buttons on the catches, receiving the latter in the notches in the ends thereof and, because the supporting plates are not very long, therod will be concealed behind the wind-ow shade 27 in any positionwhich the window shade will ordinarily take. The catches may therefore be released and the raising or lowering of the shade roller be controlled by means of the rod which may be actuated by means of one hand instead of two.

According to a still yfurther development of my invention, I provide means for co-ntro-lling the catches and the raising or lowering of the shade roller by the manipulation` of the shade itself. As best'shown in Figs. 1, 3 and l I provide the shade stick 28, at the lower end of the shade,-withhooks 29 projecting from the endsthereof. These hooks are so shaped that when the shade is raised so as tobring the stick aboveV the catches, the hooks will engage with the handles of the catches, that is,.with the extensions cf the pins 18, when the shade is drawn down. Then, by pulling outwardly on the lower end of the shade the catches will be moved into their release positions, so that the supporting plates are left free to move up or down. If the shade roller is tobe raised the pull on the shade is slackened so as to permit the main supportingA springs to raise the roller. It', on the otherl hand,

it is desired to lower the roller, the shadeis p-ulled down, carrying with it the roller supports. the point at which it is to be left, whether it has been moved up or down, the lower end lVhenever the roller has reached ered in the' usual way` without affecting the l roller. f

The guidebars may takel various forms.l

Thus they maybe made out of sheet metal as indicated in Figs. 1 to l0 'or theymay bein theform of wooden strips or' cleats as indicated at 35 in Fig. 12, the strips or cleats having wide grooves 36 cut into the exposed broad faces, these grooves being closed'. by means l of metal plates 37, each containing one of the slots, 5. i

While I .have illustrated and described with ,particularity-only al single preferred form of my invention, withv slight modifications,-I do not desire to be limitedto the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which comewithin the terms employed yin Ithe definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims. l

Iclaim:

l. In. combination a window shade, an adjustable support for the same, Tand-v cooperating meansbetween the shade and .the support forcontrolling the raising and lowering of said support. s d

2. In combination, a window shade, a support for the shade, means tending constantly to raise said support, a catch mechanism for locking the support against upward movement, and means on the shade for releasing said catch mechanism.

3. In combination, a window shade, a support for the shade, means tending constantly to raise said support, a catch mechanism for locking the support against upward movement, and a part of said shade adapted to interlock with said catch mechanism so 'as first to release the catch mechanism, `and then lowei saidv support when the shadeis` drawn down.

4. In combination, a window shade, a sup'- port for the shade, means tending constantly to raise said support, a catch mechanism for locking the support against upward movement, and a part on said shade adapted to engage the catch mechanismand release the same when a downward pull is exerted on the shade, and thus leave the support free to be moved up or down.

5. In combination, a` shade roller, a shade on said roller, a support for one end of said roller, a spring from which that support is suspended, catch mechanism for locking said support in any one of a plurality of positions against the tendency of the" spring to `raise the support, and means on the shade for releasing said catch mechanism so as to permit said support to be raised or lowered.

6. In combination, two parallel guides, a shade roller extending between said guides,

supports for the ends of said rollers, mountv ed in the guides, movable lengthwise of the latter, springs tending constantly to move said supports toward one end of the guides, catches on said supports, and said guides having shoulders distributed along the same yin position to engage with said catches, for the purpose of locking the supports in any one of a plurality of positions against the tendency of the springs to move the supports out of said positions, a shade on said roller, and parts on said shade adapted to engage said catches to release the same.

7. In combination, two parallel guides, a shade roller arranged between said guides, supports for the ends of said roller movable along said guides, springs each attached at one end to one of said supports, and means for adjustably connecting the other end of each spring to the corresponding guide.

8. In combination, a guide, a roller` support slidable along said guide, a spring tending to move said support in onedirection along the guide, said guide having pairs of notches provided withy oppositely-disposed working faces, and a doubleended pawl on' said support in position to engage with the' notches of any one pair when brought opposite the same and lock'the support against movement in either direction along thel guide. i

9. In combination, two parallel guides, a i

shade roller extending between said guides,A

supports for said roller mounted on said guides, suspending springs for said supyports, said guides having shouldersr distrib-k slot through one of its walls, the bounding walls of said slot having pairs of oppositelyfacing shoulders distributed along the same, and a double-ended pawl pivoted to said support and lying in said slot in position to engageboth shoulders of any of said pairs when brought opposite the same.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

JUIJIUS G. I-IOVVARI).I 

